Love in the Drama Department
by Naomilyloveless
Summary: Santana Lopez hates the social expectation of getting involved in your child's academic affairs, but her resentment is quickly lessened when Ohio's most prestigious private school hires Brittany S Pierce as the new head of their drama department...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello Reader! If you are new to my fics, welcome, if you are a returning reader you've probably noticed I basically fell off the face of the earth! Well I'm back and ready for action with a brand new story, I will be playing catch up with my other ones but I felt the need for a fresh start. Let me know what you think!**

I walked reluctantly down the hall and into a small, brightly lit classroom. I resented this time of year, when, as parents, we are expected to want nothing more than to partake in every aspect of the extra curricular activities school policy forces our little darlings into.

I never wanted to be one of _those _parents, the ones that sew costumes and build dioramas or join the PTA, and I'm not, but the social expectation from the other parents of Lima Valley Academy's young wonders, called for a certain level of enthusiasm and involvement in our children's academic affairs. It was a no holes barred pain in the ass, but it has to be done. Now, that's not to say I don't think it's a great school, because there would be no further cry from the truth. LVA is one of the most acclaimed private schools in the state of Ohio; parents put their names on a waiting list before their precious angels have even been conceived. Luckily, we did not have to go to those extremities. Noah's best friend, Finn, happens to be the school's principal, leaving us fortunate enough to evade such protocol, which worked out nicely as _our _little darling, came as quite the surprise._ Let's just say there was large quantities of tequila, bruised egos and broken hearts, and leave it at that._

Initially, we were both thrown into a mutual state of panic, neither of us knowing exactly what was to be expected when raising a child; practically running to the emergency room every time Emily so much as hiccupped. Titling us as nervous wrecks was putting it kindly. But five years later, we pretty much have the parenting thing down to a tee, and the extra set of hands that comes in the form of Noah's girlfriend, Quinn, doesn't go unappreciated. I was surprised when she agreed to climb aboard the parenting train, she had been so reluctant when I first revealed I was pregnant. She and Noah had been broken up at the time of conception, gotten back together and broke up again after the news of our soon arrival became a public entity. But she came around shortly after Emily was born and has been there ever since.

Now, we work, so far successfully, as part of a tri-parenting unit. Unfortunately, today I was forced to fly solo as both Noah and Quinn were on call at the hospital where we all worked as surgeons.

Just as it had been last year, all the tiny chairs were pushed to one side of the classroom in order to make room for more adult appropriate sized ones, a colorful array of artwork adorned the walls and a large bookshelf ran the length of the back wall; an assortment of baked goods was neatly placed on a table to the right of the room, along with tea and coffee, fellow parents huddled together in closed circles, chatting and showing off their child's lastest masterpiece. I stood alone, staring at the pictures on display, spotting my daughter's own collection of creativity, I felt a surge of pride swell in my chest. Yes, in actuality, it sucked. Not to be harsh, but I was nothing if not realistic, it was nothing more than odd shapes and purple clouds, but to a mother's eyes, was the greatest artwork in existence. One particular drawing caught my attention, it was a picture Emily had drawn of our family, Noah, Quinn, she and I at the park, doing what I can only assume is feeding green ducks, the assignment title was 'Something that Makes Me Happy', I couldn't hide the broad smile that stretched across my face, and, for the first time tonight, I was happy that I was the one of the three of us that got to be here.

Yes, it may all seem very sappy, but my usual persona isn't so soft. I have quite the reputation for being a hard-ass, grade A bitch, but I can help the other side of me that emerges only in matters to do with my daughter.

Twelve months ago, our trio arrived at this very same building, all beyond excited and eager to get involved in whatever aspect of our child's education and creative development, that we could, however, within 15 minutes of being at the meeting, we had all realised that we were better suited to being passive contributors. It's not that we didn't want to get involved per say, on the contrary actually, we all loved to consume ourselves with everything 'Emily' at any given opportunity, it was the other parents and pre-schoolers that we quickly tired of.

These meetings were held in October of every year for parents to volunteer for the school's large variety of extra curricular activities; naturally, last year being Emily's first year of pre-school, we all jumped at every available chance to help, that we were offered, Noah dove right in as babies soft ball coach, Quinn as baby yoga instructor (I know right? Babies doing yoga? But I gotta admit, it was unbelievably adorable) and I offered my services to the musical theatre department; it had all seemed like a really great idea to begin with, but we quickly learned how wrong we really were, there's that saying, 'never work with children or animals', I have never encountered a truer statement in my entire life.

The trouble dealing with kid's of the age of three and four, is that they have extremely short attention spans. Teaching them a dance routine was next to impossible and I had literally ended up with a bunch of toddlers running frantically in circles and flailing their arms about, and, to my own fault, I had attempted to explain the concept of projecting their voices so that even the 'mommies and daddies in the very back' could hear, this endeavor had resulted in a loud, shouting chorus of 'Jingle Bells', and my tried and failed efforts to successfully portray the Nativity Story, had ended with headless donkeys, a legless baby Jesus and a crying shepherd. And that was only the tip of the ice berg, there was also the task of dealing with angry parents who believed their little treasures deserved every lead role and solo and didn't take kindly to being told the harsh reality that they're child is talentless and sings like a strangled seagull. Noah and Quinn were no more successful but at least their contributions weren't available on dvd for all to relive over and over.

Noah, Quinn and I had sat down a week ago to discuss a plan of action for this event. We didn't want to look like lazy, uninterested parents but, as if putting ourselves through last year's torture wasn't enough, this year we would be faced with the growing egos of kindergarteners, so a plan was most definitely essential. We had agreed that we all still wanted to take part in some form or another, but that we could tell a few white lies and pull the 'hectic life of a surgeon' card, to as to avoid being heavily depended upon. This plan was all well and good when we had power in numbers but the other two had been paged to emergency surgeries which left me to face the PTA alone. I was by no means weak, but I had an affinity for being brutally honest which resulted in my utter incapability to lie convincingly and these wasp-y mothers were not easily manipulated, so that was out.

"Good evening everyone." The familiar voice of Finn Hudson, silenced the room's buzzing chatter, "If everybody would please take a seat so we can begin."

The obedient crowd followed their instructions immediately; I was sure to grab a seat in the centre of the room, no one ever picks out people in the middle, they pick the obviously eager people at the front and catch out the lazy people who sit in the back with the hope of going unnoticed. My dash for a middle seat didn't go unnoticed by Finn, who smiled warmly and winked at me knowingly. I have always been quite fond of Finn, we met years ago through Noah, the two were practically like brothers and I was instantly taken by how kind he was; he was handsome, in a goofy sort of way, and freakishly tall with a crooked school boy smile, if you didn't know him, you'd never peg him as a school principal, football coach perhaps, but he didn't exactly exhibit an obvious air of authority; his wife, Rachel, was a hobbit of a woman, not much to look at in my opinion (and I have exsquisite taste, bar one or two minor indiscretions, sex with a guy being one of them, but that's a story for a different time), she ran a small, surprisingly successful theatre company and was quite easily the most irritating individual I could have ever been forced to associate with. But our little group had become somewhat of a warped style of family in a way.

Once everyone was seated, Finn handed the floor over to the class teacher, Ms. Cohen-Chang. Ms. Cohen-Chang was a pretty, very eager woman, she was generally pleasant from my very few, brief, encounters with her but Finn has told us she's not a complete pushover, she instigates discipline where appropriate and is very good with the kids; Emily likes her and seems to be learning something so the woman's gotta be doing something right.

"Welcome everyone, as you know, my name is Ms. Cohen-Chang and I would just like to take a moment to thank you all for coming here tonight, it's so inspiring to see parents enthusiastic about getting involved in our school community! Now down to business, unfortunately, you can't all do everything." I laughed inwardly to myself at how genuinely disappointed some of the parents in the front row looked at this statement. "But we have come up with a system that will allow everyone the chance to take part in something." A round of applause erupted at the newest piece of information. "Without further adieu, I will hand you over to our PTA chairwoman, Laura Hemsworth."

Another round of applause flowed through the room as Laura took her place at the top of the class.

"Hello everyone." She began cheerfully. I struggle to recall a time when I've seen this woman without an eerily large grin on her face, she was either permanently hepped up on happy gas, or her extensive amount of botox had frozen her face into that position, either way, I found her uncomfortable to look at for too long at a time, so averted my eyes every few minutes. "As always, we have a fantastic turn out here tonight, so thank you all for coming. Now this year, we will be doing things a little differently..." A low gasp ran throughout the room at the mere mention of a change to the carefully thought out, tried and tested system. "While everyone will still get their opportunity to volunteer with whatever activities they have chosen, we have made slight adjustments to our musical theatre department, because this year Lima Valley Academy is happy to welcome a brand new _drama teaacherr_." She sang in a squealing fashion which earned murmurs of praise from the front row. I released a sigh of relief at the revelation, safe with the knowledge that the egos and tantrums and all else involved, would be left in the charge of someone else. "However," Oh here it was, I had rejoiced too soon, "since Ms. Lopez did such a _wonderful _job with last year's production, we hated the thought of taking the position entirely away from her, so myself and the other committee members have voted that Ms. Lopez as well as Ms. Connor, who has requested involvement in this year's production team, act as assistant directors one and two, if, of course that is ok with you Santana?" My heart sank when all anxious eyes turned their attention to me, I wasn't even given the opportunity to decline as the other parents began to cheer and sing my praises, thanking me for taking on the role again. _Great. _How could any of them seriously think last year's production was a success? Was this some cruel joke?

Laura went through the rest of the list, distributing jobs to all who had voted, I was told to inform Noah, that he had once again been elected as soft ball coach and that Quinn would be helping with the theatre department as assistant dance coach and costume designer, which led me to question the legitimacy of the voting cards we had been sent in the parent pack, as I know for a fact Quinn would _never _sign up for costume duty, I doubted the girl had ever even used a sowing machine _or _been in a fabric store for that matter.

I silently delighted when the room was forced to settle down after the excitement of being allocated tasks and Ms. Cohen-Chang once again took to the floor.

"Now, I know you're all probably tired, and eager to get home your angels, but we just have one final item on the agenda," I sighed at the dramatic pause she used to seemingly build tension; "Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud and happy to introduce to you, the newest member of our staff and head of the theatre department, Miss Brittany S. Pierce."

Everyone clapped overzealously as the door opened revealing our mystery theatre head. The noise around me seemed to fall silent as piercing blue eyes connected with mine, upon entry, they were like two deliciously inviting swimming pools that I could happily drown in; her hair fell in soft curls and she wore the brightest, most magical smile I had ever seen. All my previous reluctance and deflation seemed to evaporate with a single look. She was magnificent.

I was so awe struck by the beautiful woman before me, that I had barely noticed when she began to speak, but once I did, I hung on her every word, savoring the lyrical sound as though it was rare and precious.

"Thank you all for such a wonderful, warm welcome. I am super excited to be here and look forward to getting to know all of you better." It was probably my wild, wishful imagination but I could have sworn that last part was directed at me. _Stop being so vain Lopez, it's obviously a prepared speech, she just happened to be looking in the direction of this side of the room_, I mentally chided myself, returning my full attention to the stunning blonde. "I am confident that we can make this year's winter event, Lima Valley's most memorable yet."

I must have zoned out for longer than I thought because that appeared to be her closing line as the crowd rose to their feet with thunderous applause.

I lingered a little longer than was necessary after the meeting. The room had almost completely emptied out with only a few parents left behind, scheduling event meetings and such. I noticed a flash of blonde curls out of the corner of my eye, finally left alone, I approached her, slight panic overtaking me as my mouth completely dried out and my palms began to sweat. _Seriously? _What age am I? Twelve?

"Hi." I opened bravely, thankful that it had come out respectfully coherent.

The taller woman turned around with the same dazzling smile that she had shown earlier. "You must be Santana Lopez." She spoke warmly, extending her hand in salutation; it was the most beautiful my name had ever sounded. "Brittany S. Pierce. It's really nice to meet you."

I smiled just as broadly back at her, probably a little over enthusiastically and completely unlike me; taking her hand in mine I felt a surge of chemical electricity flow through my body at the contact; barely composing myself, I managed to reel in the cheesy grin and respond. "It's nice to meet you too. I look forward to working with you."

"And I, you." She said sweetly, never breaking the contact of our hands. "I think we'll have a lot of fun."

Her voice oozed what sounded distinctly like flirtation, but I didn't want to risk being presumptuous and so decided it was time the hand holding came to an end for fear that the flirtation was nothing more than a produt of my wicked imagination.

Just as I went to continue the conversation, my phone sounded in my pocket, Justin Bieber's '_Mistletoe'_, Emily's choice; I blushed slightly before excusing myself.

"Hi sweetie… Yeah, I'll be there soon. Love you too." I turned back to the blonde, giving her an apologetic smile.

"I gotta go… I guess I'll see you Friday?" I could hear the eager hopefulness in my voice and inwardly cringed.

"I guess so." Her smile never faltered. Just as I reached the door she spoke up, once again, garnering my attention.

"Oh and Santana, it was _great _to meet you."

I swallowed back the large nervous lump that had formed in my throat.

Friday suddenly seemed like a painful lifetime away.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for giving this story a chance, and thank you for coming back! :) I didn't receive many reviews but the response through Story Alerts and Favourites was AMAZING! So I want you to know how much I appreciate it. I know it might seem a little slow getting started but I promise the stride will soon pick up so bear with me. I will be alternating between POVs... so this one is from Brittany's. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Teaching was never something I'd imagined I'd end up doing, primarily because the words 'stupid', 'dumb', and 'idiot' were often uttered towards me at school. I wasn't stupid, not at all actually. I was naiive and wanted to believe in the good in everyone and everything, and after making one silly comment in 8th grade, when I mistook euthanasia, for youth AND asia (long story, let's not get into it), I fell into the typical stereotype of a 'dumb blonde'. It was easier to go along with it rather than outwardly prove everyone wrong. My teachers were amusingly confused when my grades didn't mirror my quirky comments in class and I figured, hey, if my grades are good and I pass my classes, why bother wasting time trying to prove myself to anyone. And so I carried out my school life under the pretense of a false archetype.<p>

What I really wanted, was to be was a dancer. I remember watching a tv documentary about some New York ballet group when I was four years old, the details of the show I can hardly remember, it was the grace and diligence the dancers exhibited in executing each move that struck me; I ached to be like them, to have people watch me perform in that same awe. My ever supportive parents signed me up for dance class that same week and the rest, as they say, is history.

* * *

><p>My love of dance never faltered. I channeled it into other areas, such as gymnastics and cheerleading, at school to broaden my abilities. I was already lucky enough to have been naturally gifted with great co-ordination but I wanted to be the best and I was ready to work hard in order to succeed.<p>

After high school I tried out college for a bit, I guess it was the social expectation more than anything else that's to blame for that decision. All my friends were headed to college; it would have been outside of the norm for me to stay behind. But my parents never forced me into anything, they supported me no matter what I chose to do. However, I won't deny that they were extremely happy when I came home one afternoon after a meeting with the school's guidance counsellor and announced my plans to go to NYU and study journalism. I figured I could stick with dancing as a hobby, but I needed to be realistic, what could a little dancer from Lima, Ohio, really accomplish in the big bad world? I needed a solid career plan.

This plan all seemed great in theory but once I got to New York, I realised how foolish I was being. It was almost as if the city had infected me with hope and determination. I dropped out of college after the first semester in favor of the stage.

I had accompanied a friend of mine to an audition for _Hairspray_ on Broadway, initially I had only tagged along for moral support, but being surrounded by all those people that shared my passion for their art got to me and I spontaneously applied. The audition worked out well for us both, Blaine was a little disappointed at first, receiving the role of Corny instead of his desired role as Link, but in true professional fashion, he accepted the role graciously and owned it. I could carry a tune but I was nowhere near good enough to even humour the idea of taking centre stage, but delighted upon receiving a minor role as one of the chorus dancers on the Corny Collin's Show, Brenda.

Sadly, my stint on Broadway was short lived, lasting only 8 months before I grew restless. Although I adored the adrenaline rush the stage and audience fed me, I needed something else, but I wasn't quite sure what that was. Blaine too, had begun to outgrow his role, eager to try something new. We were both very aware of how lucky we were to be employed in our respective areas, especially in New York, where singers and dancers were a dime a dozen, but we were ambitious and confident enough in our abilities to know that we had not yet reached our peak. And so, we left that May with no solid plan for the future.

Blaine moved on to his next Broadway venture after four months of failed auditions and won the title male role in Spring Awakening; through the Broadway grapevine, I had encountered another dancer, Mike Chang, who was in the process of setting up his own dance studio. I helped him get it off the ground and it was here that my love of teaching dance transpired. I thrilled in watching others push through their limits and the joy that washed over them when they accomplished a new move. I knew now what I was meant to do. Mike and I grew close, but merely in the platonic sense, in fact, he soon began dating one of Blaine's co-stars, Mercedes. The four of us became inseparable, spending most of every day with one another, but once again, I started getting antsy. Blaine often joked that I had commitment issues, making me incapable of sticking with one thing for very long and maybe he was right. Because, now here I am, right back where I started – Lima, Ohio.

I came home during the summer to visit my family. I hadn't been back to visit since moving to New York and figured perhaps all I needed was a change of scenery in order to return to a life of contentment back in the city. My vacation extended with every passing week, almost as if I was subconsciously avoiding going back, and when I saw an advertisement in the Lima Newsletter for someone to head the drama department at Lima's local private school, I saw my opportunity for the new start I was craving.

I was fortunate enough that the job didn't officially begin until October, so I had time to return to the city, tie up the loose ends and say my goodbyes. I hated the last part. All my friends had become such a huge part of my life, I'd be lying if I said the thought of being without them didn't scared me a little.

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><p>I had been briefed by the other teachers on what to expect from what they dubbed 'The October Meeting' or 'TOM', and I was slightly nervous at the thought of having to deal with pretentious rich people. I never really mixed with those of high status, all my friends were the artsy fartsy, walking cliché types.<p>

The meeting pretty much lived up to every expectation, although, the parents didn't seem entirely as unfriendly as I had been led to believe. My new co-worker, Tina, informed me it usually took a few weeks before they became a proper pain in the ass, so I was wary about my first opinions and thinkings. But there was one parent that I simply could do nothing _but _think about. Santana Lopez.

I had heard her name come up in passing in the teacher's lounge on the afternoon of the meeting, while we discussed potential roles for each parent with the head of the PTA, Laura something... But what I was met with that evening was an entirely pleasant surprise.

My eyes locked on her immediately as I entered the room. I had intended on taking a quick glance over the crowd before I addressed them; the second my eyes found her dark ones, I was a goner. She was the epitome of beauty - her long dark hair fell loosely around her shoulders, she wore light make up with slightly smokey eyes but it was easy to tell she was just keeping up appearances for she obviously had no reason to wear make up at all, she was dressed smartly in a navy coat with a white shirt underneath, but it was those eyes that I couldn't get enough of. A girl could drown in those eyes.

I had tried to speak to the room as a whole when introducing myself, but my attention kept falling back on to the stunning Latina in the middle of the room. I feared I was being too obvious when I noted her staring at me with a curious look I couldn't quite place, but I shook it off.

I cursed the parents who insisted on coming up to talk with me afterwards when I noticed the dark haired beauty lingering. I usually had a great deal of time for anyone, but I wanted nothing more than for the rest of the room to clear out so I wouldn't miss my opportunity to talk with the main object of my interest. Tina had pointed the woman out to me after the meeting drew to a close, and informed me that she was in fact, Santana Lopez, and my stomach tightened at the thought of working with this woman so closely in the coming weeks.

She came up to greet me first and I inwardly applauded myself for the cool demeanor I managed to pull off in her presence, even managing to insert a slight flirtatious tone to my voice. We shook hands for longer than was necessary as I attempted to work out if we might, by some lucky twist of fate, play for the same team. She certainly seemed at least somewhat interested, but perhaps that was just my wishful thinking.

Her phone rang and my heart sunk when I heard the tone of endearment in which she handled the call. _"Hey sweetie... Yeah, I'll be there soon. Love you too."_ Of course this woman wasn't single, just _look_ at her! Still, I couldn't shake this unrecognizable feeling I got when we address one another and decided to throw in a little more flirtation into my departing words, unsure if she picked up on it or not.

I berated myself the whole way home for my behavior. As soon as I reached the parking lot, I realised how utterly inappropriate I had been. Santana was a parent of one of my students and from the sounds of it, was already involved. _Stupid Brittany_.

* * *

><p>I began my first official teaching day on the Wednesday. It was here that I had my first encounter with the little Lopez. I picked her out from the moment I walked through the door. She was a carbon copy of her mother, with the same tanned skin and long dark hair. What I found curious though, was their different last names. Tina had presented me with a class list - a picture of each child accompanied their name as well as the names and contact numbers of their parents. Emily Puckerman, was the name next to her picture and although her father was indeed, also titled 'Puckerman', it struck me as odd that Santana did not share the same title. Of course, I am more than aware that there are many very plausible reasons behind why Santana had a different last name, but give me a break, I was holding on to any shred of hope I could grasp. I mentally reprimanded myself once again at the unprofessional-ness of my thoughts.<p>

I naturally showed a light favouritism for Emily, I couldn't help it. I like to think that it had more to do with the child herself, and her sassy, confident attitude, than her mother, but who am I kidding?

The other kids were great too, I could tell I would enjoy this place, as long as the demanding parents I had heard so much about, stayed at a safe distance.

Even though I was more nervous than I care to admit about Friday and working with Santana, I couldn't stop the excited feeling I got at the thought of it. I found myself fretting about what clothes to wear and how I should style my hair. It was ridiculous really. The only practical clothing would be sweatpants and a t-shirt, and I knew I had no choice but to scrape my hair back, I hated when it clung to my neck once I got sweaty while dancing, but I wanted to impress Santana. Yes, I realize that by entertaining any kind of romantic notion about the woman I had spoken to for half a second, that was, as it appeared, unavailable, was not only unprofessional, but also kind of pathetic, still, I couldn't help myself, I literally had to force my mind to stop thinking about her.

* * *

><p>Friday came excruciatingly slowly. I sat alone in the auditorium, planning out the audition plan and schedule for the winter musical. The kids wouldn't be arriving for rehearsal for at least another 20 minutes and although I usually took this time to warm up, today was too filled with nauseating, excited anticipation to even contemplate such motion.<p>

I was so deep in concentration, I didn't notice anyone enter the room.

"This seat taken?" I looked up towards the slightly husky voice, to see the face of the woman that had been invading my thoughts all week, gesturing to the seat on my right.

"No. Please, go ahead." I smiled, once again thanking whoever was looking out for me for keeping me cool under such a situation.

"So, what's that ya got there?" She enquired, craning her neck a little to peek at what I was working on.

"Nothing really, just the audition schedule. If you have any tips, feel free to share. After all, you're the season pro here." I winked to finish my sentence and inwardly cringed. _Why on EARTH would you WINK at her you idiot? _I could feel the redness rush to my cheeks at my careless gesture and attempted to avoid looking in her direction, seemingly finding the page in front of me suddenly extremely interesting.

She let out a whispered chuckle, and it calmed me somewhat, removing most of the tension that had risen around me. "I wouldn't exactly call myself that, I hear that's more your area of expertise." She nudged my elbow and I tensed slightly at the contact. Was she flirting? Or just being friendly? When I remained silent, she continued, "Besides, I doubt I'd be much help, I pretty much managed to offend most of the parents in some way or another last year while captaining the Titanic."

I appreciated her attempt to lighten the mood and lifted my gaze so as not to be rude, offering her a shy smile, "It couldn't have been _that _bad, surely?" I was grateful at how she manipulated the conversation so it had returned to one of comfort, and was actually surprised by how easily our banter flowed.

"Oh, it really was. I was actually surprised they even wanted me back this year."

We both laughed at this statement, even though it wasn't particularly funny, it just seemed like the thing to do.

Momentary silence fell over us. We sat there, continuing to stare at one another, an odd tension building once again, but this time it was clear neither of us knew how to break it. It was an strange kind of atmosphere to find yourself in with someone you don't know at all and I wasn't exactly sure how or why it had arisen or what, if anything at all, that it meant.

"Sorry I'm late, traffic was chaos." A slightly familiar voice broke our overly long gaze.

We both looked in the direction the intrusion had come from only to find another woman, who I vaguely recalled meeting the other night and recognized as Ms. Connor. Tina had also made a point of catching me up on her, yesterday at lunch.

Anita Connor was a recent divorcee, but it had apparently been a long time coming, she had somewhat of a reputation for being a lot less than faithful. Tina assured me that out of a lot of the parents, she was far from the worst, but told me to be wary of her and her tendency for coming on to any adult with a pulse. Her husband had finally walked out on her after walking in on her with mistress number two – he had previously also discovered she had had a short lived affair with their pool boy, but word on the gossip mill was that he overlooked that incident as though nothing had happened.

Anita stopped in her tracks as she neared us, clearly sensing the tension, she gave us a quizzical look, "Am I interrupting something?"

Santana looked back at me for one last awkward second before shaking her head and clearing her throat. "Not at all, Anita. We were just discussing the audition plan."

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><p>The rest of the afternoon was a little less successful than the previous days. I had spent the week acquainting myself with my class, playing 'getting to know eachother' games, so today was the first day of us actually attempting something artistically productive, and to my dismay, I quickly learned how accurate Santana's earlier 'Titanic' statement really was. These kids showed hardly any interest at all in so much as attempting to learn the choreography, choosing to make up their own instead. In fact, the only child that put in any effort was Emily.<p>

I watched her curiously as she nailed every move, and watched her mother even more curiously as she beamed with pride. Even though I didn't know Santana, she didn't strike me as the overly maternal type, yet here she was, the every depiction of a proud mama.

I also quickly learned that Anita's reputation was extremely warranted. She leaned unnecessarily close to me whenever she had something she wished to discuss, watched with obvious, unadulterated lust during my dance demonstrations, and used any excuse to brush against me. I continuously stole glances in Santana's direction, trying to gage her reaction, if she had any at all. _Really _hoping to catch some hint of her inclination, but receiving nothing. She was completely immersed in her daughter, which would have likely made me somewhat frustrated if it wasn't completely enamoring. I did however, think I caught her chancing one or two looks my way every so often, and what I could have sworn was a very dangerous glare at Anita at one point. If looks could kill... But I brushed it off, she really didn't seem interested in me at all. I put our earlier tension down to my own awkwardness and attraction and figured the looks were all part of this wistful imagination I had going on.

Two o clock came and the bell sounded. All the children were quick to evacuate which I was grateful for as I had been left with a pounding headache after today's session.

"You were great today, Brittany." I looked up from tying my shoe lace to find Anita staring down at me hungrily. I self consciously stood up, covering my chest, exposed by my low cut top, intended on impressing Santana.

"Uhm, thanks."

"I look forward to our next session. Maybe you could come over sometime and give Dean some private lessons?" I cringed under her intense gaze. There was something uncomfortable and sleazy about the way she looked at me. While I usually would have no problem offering extra classes to any child who requested them, I was beyond reluctant to acquiesce to her request. Her behavior aside, her son Dean, was a brat. He walked around with a cocky air about him and I had noticed his less than friendly interaction with the other children. I didn't condone it and I certainly wouldn't agree to spending more time with him than I had to. But I thought it rude to bluntly refuse, so tried to be tactful in my decline of the offer.

"I would be happy to give Dean extra help if he needs it, but I don't do private classes. I would be more than happy to bring up the idea of extra classes to principal Hudson though." I offered with a smile. Her expression had faltered however and was now a mixture of pissed off combined with deflated rejection.

"Yeah. Fine. I have to go, I'll see you next week." She grabbed her jacket and purse from the back of the chair and made a swift exit.

I blew my cheeks out in a relieved release of air, turning around, I stopped short when I notice Santana staring in my direction, her hands paused in motion in her bag. I offered her a soft smile, which she returned, shaking her head and chuckling lightly in amusement.

"She's a piece work."

I looked towards the door Anita had just left through and couldn't hold back a chuckle of my own.

"Tell me about it. I thought the other teachers were blowing her out of proportion... Clearly not." I turned my gaze back towards the raven haired beauty, about to say something, when she spoke first.

"She's not wrong though." I looked at her in confusion. She seemed to have noticed this, elaborating, "When she said you were great. You really were. I've never seen Emily so focused."

There it was again, the stomach clenching. I felt a blush creep across my cheeks at the compliment. "Well, she's a great student. She works hard."

Santana smiled, and I silently rejoiced at it being directed towards me. "She is."

"I mean it. She shows real potential. I'd be happy to give her extra classes if dance is something she's interested in." I bit my lip as soon as the words left my mouth. Was that too eager?

Santana merely looked amused, a cheeky smirk gracing her gorgeous features. "Thought you didn't do private classes?"

I noticed a twinkle in her eye and her voice lowered in what appeared unmistakably flirtatious. Her tone was teasing and I was wary that I may have confused this for flirtation but I made the bold decision to respond in a mirroring tone. "I make certain exceptions."

She stepped closer to me but kept a decent distance between us. She paused and smirked. I lightly clenched my fists to steady myself. She bent down, picked her towel off the floor, and walked towards the door at a pace that implied her soon departure. My heart sank in disappointment that that was it and the realization washed over me that I had in fact misread and quite possibly fabricated any signals I thought I saw. My eyes fell to the floor, my mind racing with thoughts of my own stupidity, so I didn't notice Santana stop directly next to me, completely unaware of her presence until I felt warm breath ghost against my ear in a whisper,

"Well then, I guess we'll have to work something out."

And with that, she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**I have been totally MIA for way too long, and I know there are very few things more annoying than a story that's rarely updated, so I plan on trying very hard to make sure updates are more frequent from here on out - assuming that anyone's still interested in reading.**

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><p>Saturday was always my favorite day of the week. I made a point of clearing my schedule – which, as a surgeon, wasn't easy and not always possible – as best I could.<p>

My free time was never abundant, and after missing Emily's first word, I swore I'd make more time to be around. Time was too precious to waste, and she was growing up so fast. Luckily my Chief of surgery, Will Schuester, was a really great guy, and helped me out with my request as best he could. And that's how mommy/daughter Saturdays came to be.

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><p>Before Emily came along I was a workaholic, not that I wasn't now, by most people's standards I still probably worked too much, and when I wasn't working, I was obsessing over patients; my mind constantly abuzz with any way to save the so called "hopeless cases", but on Saturdays, I made an extra special effort to leave the hospital behind completely.<p>

We never did anything extremely out of the ordinary, usually it was just a trip to the park to feed the ducks or play on the swings. Sometimes we'd go shopping, or have tea parties, and other days we'd just snuggle on the couch and watch Disney movies. The old Santana Lopez would have looked on in disgust or bombarded me with a slushee facial if she could see me reciting every line of The Little Mermaid, word for word, but Emily loved it. On occasion, when freeing up a Saturday proved impossible for me, Quinn filled in so that Emily would never go without her weekend tradition.

This week my charismatic offspring decided that she wanted to have Swan Princess day. When I questioned what exactly 'Swan Princess' day entailed, she looked at me like I'd grown seven heads, scoffed as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, and then proceeded to draw a diagram explaining that the outing required we visit the duck pond dressed in our best princess attire. _Yep, no doubting they gave me the right kid at the hospital, sassy miss! _

Emily donned her favorite fairy princess dress (complete with wings) – a gift from her abuela – and matching glass slippers. I managed to convince her that I had sent my matching outfit to the magic elves because one of it's unicorn threads had snagged; she seemed to buy this as an entirely plausible excuse. The sad truth is, I do have a matching dress, but it's tucked neatly away in a box in the attic, only to be exposed on Halloween. Maybe not even then.

Still insisting that I had to look equally princess-esque, I settled on wearing a tiara with a figure hugging black dress, that was sure to turn a few heads, I always did like to make a sexy statement with my downtime appearance - _Hey, I'm a mother, I'm not dead._ And although I felt a little ridiculous with the sparkly hair accessory, the smile on Emily's face was _so _worth it.

Satisfied that we looked the part of Lima royalty, we set off, making a quick dash to the grocery store to pick up some fresh bread for the swans, and some chocolatey snacks for ourselves. I refused to become one of those parents that deprived my child candy in favor of spinach and broccoli – that was Quinn's beat.

The park was relatively quiet, it usually was at 9:30am on a Saturday. Most of the Lima population opted to stay indoors until midday, or so it seemed; given my shiny headgear, and the fairy wings Emily had insisted on taking off for me to wear instead, I was rather grateful that as few people as possible were around as witnesses.

We found our usual spot at the far end of the pond where all the ducks seemed to congregate, and sat ourselves down. The grass was damper than I had expected it to be so I pulled Emily onto my lap instead.

A half hour passed of us laughing at the Swans fighting over the itty-bitty pieces of bread we threw – although Emily was far more generous than I had been, throwing whole slices at a time, occasionally hitting one of the birds in the head and causing it to squawk loudly, making us both laugh even harder.

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><p>The sun had risen more in the sky and with it, the air grew warmer. Emily had soon tired of the birds once the bread had all been eaten and begged to go play on the slide, and so we ventured back towards the park's playground. She ran ahead while I kept a watchful eye. She knew never to go too far away from me at any one time, and was careful to always stay within sight. Without warning, a giant golden retriever, the size of a bear (<em>okay, maybe an exaggeration<em>), ran right up to her, tackling her to the ground. My heart stopped in an instant as the disgusting beast hovered over my daughter. I ran to her aid only to find that the cries I had presumed were ones of fear and pain, were actually hysterical giggles and squeals as the mutt licked every inch of her little face. _Gross._

A pale hand appeared and dragged the oversized pooch away. Immediately I lifted Emily from the ground and began to wipe the slobber off her face with the pack of kleenex I kept in my purse at all times.

"Oh my goodness, I'm _so _sorry! He's usually not so excitab-"

I turned around, livid glare set firmly in place, ready to go _all_ Lima Heights on the careless owner, but my features softened the minute I locked eyes with the crystal blue that had been invading my dreams all night.

"Santana?" She seemed equally as surprised to see me, but once she registered who it was her horrible canine had practically licked to death, her expression changed from one of surprise to one of sincere apology. "Oh my god! Is she okay, I hope Sam didn't scare her. He's really very friendly, and he's never done anything like this before, I swear. Is she hurt? Should we take her to a doctor? I'll cover any medical bills. Oh my god."

She put her face in the hand that wasn't still restraining the animal, 'Sam', _cliché dog name much?!,_ and I could see the top of her ears tinge red in embarrassment. I glanced back at Emily who looked like the woman in front of her was a raving lunatic for going on such a tangent, she caught my eye and simply shrugged as if to silently ask 'what's her deal?'. I smiled broadly before standing up to pry Brittany's hand away from her face. She resisted but I finally managed to get her to look up.

"Brittany, relax" I said through a soft chuckle, "she's fine, look." I gestured at the five year old below us, who had now taken to petting the dog on the head before making the swift decision to wrap two chubby arms around his neck and hugging it tightly. I guess she wanted to reassure him they were cool. My heart melted at the sight. How could someone as badass as me, make something that adorably perfect? "She's a tough cookie, it'd take a lot more than a crazed canine to spook her."

Brittany didn't seem to find my attempt at humor comforting nor funny and looked at me in horror. "No! No – Sam's not crazed. He's just super friendly and-"

I held my hand up to silence her. "I was kidding." I said with a reassuring smile.

Her cheeks blushed a soft shade pink. _God, I don't know who's cuter, her or the kid._

"Still, I'm really sorry." She apologized again. "He's not even my dog."

I quirked an eyebrow. "He's not?"

She shook her head, "I just walk him for my neighbor. She's a little out of it most of the time, so the poor thing is always stuck indoors. I'm more of a cat person."

"Is that so?" I couldn't help the flirtatious lilt that overtook my voice. The blush crept back up her cheeks which indicated my tone had not gone unnoticed. Just as she was about to respond, I felt a soft tug on my dress which stole my attention.

"Mama, can we go play on the slide now?"

_Oh right, the slide. Yeah. _

"Sure thing, baby." I looked back up at Brittany; really not wanting to say goodbye. "You're welcome to join us, if you'd like?"

Brittany looked hesitant, "I wouldn't want to impose..."

"Don't be silly. Besides, I'm sure Emily would love for her new friend to tag along, right, Emz?" My child was very perceptive, I really hoped she didn't choose this moment to be oblivious.

Our mother/daughter telepathy must have worked because she bounced excitedly up and and down, nodding her head in agreement.

"Well okay then." Brittany beamed.

X X X

Brittany and I sat close together on a bench near the playground. I made sure to keep an appropriate distance between us, which proved very difficult when all I wanted to do was scoot over that one little bit more so that we'd be nestled side by side. Emily had bonded with some child on the seesaw which kept her pleasantly distracted after Sam tired out from running around with her, and the pooch now lay comfortably at our feet.

"I like your wings." Brittany spoke, breaking the silence.

"Wha-" I cringed, and although ethnic people don't really blush, I'm 100% sure my cheeks burned bright red. I had completely forgotten about the fairy wings and sparkly tiara. Feeling idiotic, I reached up and removed the headpiece, looking down at it in my hands before awkwardly continuing, "Yeah, Emily wanted to play 'Swan Princesses', and she's the boss so..."

"I think it's cute." It was just an innocent statement but it caused butterflies to flutter around my stomach to the point of feeling nauseous. _Chill out, Lopez, she thinks __**it's **__cute! Not __**you**__! _

"So, how goes the audition planning?" I enquired. Anything to change the subject.

She shrugged. "It's okay. I'm a little worried about it really. I don't want to upset any of the parents, and from what Tina's told me, they're quite vocal when they don't get their way."

I laughed because it was true.

"Not to mention, I've received countless emails and texts from Anita checking up on the process. I wasn't aware that she was so invested in the production..." I hated the dejected sound in Brittany's voice. Her voice was made for the sole purpose of being cheerful and happy and positive.

"Honestly, Brittany, I think her incessant prying has less to do with the production, and more to do with her trying to find reasons to talk to you." my voice was irritated. Yeah. One, because Anita Connor was a sleazy vulture, and two, because I didn't think of using the same excuse to contact Brittany first.

"You think?"

"I _know!_" I had had more than my fair share of run ins with the woman over the last twelve months to be certain there was only one item of priority on her agenda, and it made my skin crawl.

Brittany laughed, "She _is _a little forward, I guess."

"A _little_? Britt, all she was short yesterday, was jumping on you like an animal in heat." This garnered another melodic laugh from the woman by my side and I thrilled at knowing I was the cause of such a perfect sound.

It died out slowly and she spoke again, "You called me 'Britt'."

_Shit, I did, didn't I? Fuck. I hated people who shortened people names of people they weren't friends with!_

"I'm sorry..." I trailed off, not really knowing how to talk my way out of this one.

"Don't be. All my friends call me 'Britt'." And with that, I felt entirely at ease. It also didn't escape my notice that she basically declared us friends. I could be happy with being friends. I think...

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><p>We stayed in the same spot for the next hour, chatting about nothing in particular, but I was just grateful the conversation kept flowing because that meant being graced with hearing the sound of her voice for such a long period of time without it being directed at kindergarteners. Eventually, Emily toddled over, looking worn out from spending the past 20 minutes spinning in circles with the seesaw kid.<p>

"Mama, I'm hungry." I let out a gentle sigh, knowing that I couldn't stay here with Brittany all day, and feeding my five year old with ice cream was out of the question - while I was down with the whole junk food eating, one chocolate bar was enough of a sugar fix for one morning. _I'm not completely reckless with my child's diet._

"I suppose we better get some real food into you so, huh?" I said, poking her in the stomach garnering a bout of giggles, before grabbing her into a hug.

I looked back up to Brittany who was staring at us with the softest smile on her face; it caused my whole body to heat up, and I reflexively mirrored her expression. We continued to stare at each other past the point of being a normal social interaction, and I couldn't help but feel like there was something more there. However, as before, I tried very hard not to get ahead of myself. I didn't even know if she played for my team, and although she had given me no reason to believe she didn't, she also didn't give me much reason to believe she did. It was still rather likely that I had allowed my hopefulness to overtake my imagination.

"I better go." I acknowledged remorsefully.

"Yeah." She seemed equally disappointed by the inevitable, or maybe I just wanted to think that's how it sounded.

We stood to go our separate ways, but I stopped, making an impulsive decision, and, not caring if it was proper parent/teacher etiquette, I called after her. "Hey Brittany?" She stopped and turned around. "Are you... are you busy tonight?"

She shook her head, and waited with a patiently expectant smile on her face, encouraging me to continue.

"A couple of us are going out tonight, if you wanna come? Finn will be there. His wife too."

"Sounds like fun." And she genuinely sounded into the idea.

"I don't know if you know anyone here yet, but if you do, feel free to bring them along." _I really hoped she wouldn't bring anyone._

"Great. My number's on the contact sheet, text me with the details."

"Cool."

"Cool." She repeated.

"See you tonight." I waved and pulled Emily's hand up for her to do the same.

Brittany reciprocated the gesture to Emily before returning her full attention back to me, locking her gaze on mine with an intense stare. "Looking forward to it."


End file.
